Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra, and Marine and Environmental Research Center (IMAR-CMA), 3001-401 Coimbra, Portugal.
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2011 Feb;77(3):794-802. doi: 10.1128/AEM.01599-10. Epub 2010 Dec 10.
Metallic copper surfaces rapidly and efficiently kill bacteria. Cells exposed to copper surfaces accumulated large amounts of copper ions, and this copper uptake was faster from dry copper than from moist copper. Cells suffered extensive membrane damage within minutes of exposure to dry copper. Further, cells removed from copper showed loss of cell integrity. Acute contact with metallic copper surfaces did not result in increased mutation rates or DNA lesions. These findings are important first steps for revealing the molecular sensitive targets in cells lethally challenged by exposure to copper surfaces and provide a scientific explanation for the use of copper surfaces as antimicrobial agents for supporting public hygiene.
金属铜表面能迅速有效地杀死细菌。暴露于铜表面的细胞会积累大量的铜离子，而且从干燥的铜表面吸收铜的速度比从潮湿的铜表面更快。细胞在暴露于干燥的铜几分钟内就遭受了严重的膜损伤。此外，从铜表面去除的细胞显示出细胞完整性的丧失。急性接触金属铜表面不会导致突变率或 DNA 损伤增加。这些发现为揭示细胞在暴露于铜表面时受到致命挑战的分子敏感靶点提供了重要的第一步，并为铜表面作为支持公共卫生的抗菌剂的使用提供了科学解释。
